The Institute of Medicine (IOM) found that advertising greatly influences the food and beverage requests of children and their consumption habits. Both the IOM and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report that the food and beverage industry spends more than $1 billion a year marketing to children and teenagers.

Furthermore, a number of recent studies have found that the foods and beverages marketed to African Americans and Latinos are often not as healthy as those marketed to general audiences. For instance, a survey of prime-time TV programs found that far more food commercials appear on shows with significant African American audiences than those for general audiences, and that most of these ads are for “fast food, candy, soda, or meat (e.g., sausages, cold cuts).”

NPLAN’s Marketing to Children Learning Community focuses on developing legal and policy tools that reduce children’s exposure to the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages. Currently, the group is considering the following policy interventions:

• Encouraging the use of toy give-away promotions with healthy children’s meals
• Strengthening local sign laws to reduce unhealthy food and beverage advertising
• Restricting advertising of unhealthy foods and beverages in public schools
• Evaluating the First Amendment restrictions on the FTC’s authority to regulate food and beverage marketing
• Strengthening self-regulation initiatives by the food, beverage, and media industries
• Implementing menu-labeling in fast food restaurants

An important message about the information contained on our website: NPLAN is a nonprofit organization that provides legal information on matters relating to public health. NPLAN attorneys do not represent individual clients, provide legal advice, or otherwise form attorney-client relationships. For legal advice or representation, readers should consult a lawyer in their state.